"Woooooo!!" .. "Where's Adam?" - A Spring 2012 Trip Report

"Wooooooooooo!!" .. "Where's Adam?" - A Spring 2012 Trip Report

Ladies and gentleman.... Boys and girls... Welcome to my wonderful trip report!! From April 26th - May 7th, my sister, my mother and I went on a grand adventure to Walt Disney World. We laughed.. we cried.. we argued.. we ate lots of food, rode lots of rides and even met a character or two. It was the longest trip we have been on but felt like it went by in the blink of an eye. Always seems that way, right?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my story tonight; "Wooooooooo!!" .. "Where's Adam?" - A Spring 2012 Trip Report!


Overview:
This trip carries the same cast of characters as all my previous trip reports: Ashley (sister - 26) Terryn (Mom - 21 again..) and me (Darolyn - 29)

Me, Marie and Ashley - November 2011

Mama Dukes! - November 2011

If you have read my PTR, you know most of what I'm about to review. So you can skip to Thursday if you want. If not, here's a little bit of info:

This trip, we decided to drive to save more money so we could attend the Tower of Terror 10 Miler in September. While driving wasn't that bad, I'd definitely rather fly. Unfortunately flights were all $300+ per person with terrible times and I think we ended up driving for about $500 total! We left Thursday evening April 26 and left the world on Sunday May 6th. Our timeshare is located off property and since its within 30 miles of WDW, we cannot exchange it for DVC! Such a bummer. And since we didn't book our resort until January, our home resort was booked. Sooooo we ended up at Orange Lake Resort on 192. It was on the AK side of 192 and we could see the top of Expedition Everest and fireworks from Epcot outside our room. More on how we liked the property at the end of the report!

We were staying at the timeshare Friday 4/27-Friday 5/4. We weren't leaving to head home until Sunday so we needed a room for the last 2 nights. There was no question that we would stay on property. We had originally decided to stay in a regular room at the Wilderness Lodge. After a bit of researching though, I figured out we could rent DVC points at get a studio room at the Wilderness Lodge villas for $140 less. WOOT WOOT!!! So we changed over and rented the points. I'll review how well we liked this process vs dealing with Disney direct at the end. (All of my reviews will be done at the end including resorts, dining and just general things)

So now that the recap is out of the way.... My friend is dropping off a copy of Photoshop for me so I can edit my photos! I will hopefully post some more tonight or tomorrow. I have a busy weekend planned so I can't promise anything!! I just wanted to get it started!

 

[Billy6]

Thank you! And yes, I do not like blue cheese at ALL!! lol

Really? Big time haters, GeekDad! I can eat bleu cheese til I'm bleu in the face....love it!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I'm enjoying your TR and loving what pictures you do have but I just don't understand the cheese hate... especially the blue cheese hate

Looking forward to reading more TR!

I will say that it's not from lack of trying it, because I have. I just didn't care for it. I'll try mostly anything once and if I like it, awesome, new foods for me to eat and if not, at least I attempted!

Love the hammock pics! it always seems like you wait at Ohana's, but it is worth it. can't wait to hear about Hoop de doo

It is most definitely worth it, Chris!! The first time we ate at Ohana, we were the first family in! But I think liek with any TS meal, the later into the night, the more backed up it gets, especially since it's all you can eat. I know a lot of people who absolutely crush those skewers and are there for 2+ hours! lol

Hopefully I'll get the HDD part up today. I need to finish this before I go back next month!!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Really? Big time haters, GeekDad! I can eat bleu cheese til I'm bleu in the face....love it!

Then you can go ahead and eat my portion of the blue cheese! lol

 

[GeekDad]

Really? Big time haters, GeekDad! I can eat bleu cheese til I'm bleu in the face....love it!

I'm right there with ya!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Wednesday May 2nd

We didn’t plan on going to a park on Wednesday so we slept in. If you can call 9:15 sleeping in. Originally we had planned on going to Typhoon Lagoon but then we realized we really wouldn’t have much time to check out Downtown Disney, which we love to do so we scrapped TL and decided to have a somewhat relaxing day and go to DTD, hang out at the pool and go to the late show of the Hoop Dee Doo Revue.

Well, the latter part got changed, and I forgot to mention this but the woman who had called to tell me the 9pm show was cancelled called me back on Tuesday and our only option was the 5pm show, which was the show we had ideally wanted anyway but were unable to book with a TIW discount. We decided that was fine, glad we weren’t going to TL so we wouldn’t be rushing everything. And the best part was, we got to keep the discount. SCORE!! $12 might not be a lot but at least it’s something!!

So we got up and out the door by about 10:30 and made our way over towards the Epcot resort area. We were trying something new for lunch. We parked at the Beach Club and headed inside.

Helping Ashley into the car.

A former co-worker of my Mom’s works at Cape May but he was not there that day. We were hoping to see him sometime during the week.

We walked out back towards the lake, just enjoying the scenery. This was my first time visiting Beach Club and honestly, it doesn’t really appeal to me. Neither does the Yacht Club. I live in New England so the seaside theming doesn’t do anything for me. If I had to choose, I’d pick BC over YC though.

We strolled back into the Beach Club and made our way to Beaches N Cream for some lunch. I have read really good reviews about the burgers and ice cream here so we thought we’d give it a try! Unfortunately, I wasn’t in the mood for a buger that day. I wasn’t very hungry at all so I ordered a Cherry Coke and hot dog with fruit instead of fries. (I kick myself now for ordering a hot dog that I can get at any of the parks instead of the burgers I’ve heard great things about!)

Mom order a burger and fries. She really liked it.

Ashley also ordered a hot dog with cheese and fries.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

The meals were very good and the place wasn’t very busy. We walked right in without waiting for a table. It picked up throughout our meal but it was never full. I expected it to be a bit bigger than it was but it was a really cool place.

What we really wanted was the ice cream though…. Since we were full and knew none of us could eat a full sundae on our own, we decided to split the No Way Jose. I am a huge peanut butter and chocolate combo fan. We have an ice cream shop chain around our area (Friendly’s) and they have the absolute best peanut butter cup sundaes. I was eager to see if Beaches would compare.

It did not disappoint. It was overflowing with sweet goodness. It was so good!!! I think we managed to kill most of it but I don’t think we got the whole thing down.

I would say it’s pretty close to beating Friendly’s but Friendly’s uses a peanut butter sauce and this seemed more like actual peanut butter (thicker than a sauce) and I like the sauce better. But I’ll never turn down a No Way Jose. 2 thumbs up in my book!!

After lunch, we headed back to the car and drove to Downtown Disney. It was pretty dead there (being mid-day on a Wednesday I wasn’t surprised.) We walked around and browsed the shops.

A better pic without Ashley in it. Lol

We went in Basin for the first time and I really enjoyed all the different smelling bath bombs they had. I rarely take baths though so it was pointless for me to get any.

We got the obligatory Christmas ornaments. I got a Pirates of the Caribbean bulb with a pirate Mickey standing on top of it along with a 2012 bulb. Ash got a Dumbo ornament.

After we left World of Disney, Mom said she wanted to go back into Basin before we left but the way she said it, rather than pronouncing it the way it should be pronounced “basin” she pronounced it like “bison” (like the animal) Ashley and I thought this was the funniest thing ever and nearly peed our pants we were laughing so hard. Mom told us to stop making fun of her. The rest of the trip we kept saying “I need to go to the Basin” only pronouncing it “bison” . Still now, every now and then one of us will randomly say it. Still makes us laugh.

 

[Grumps]

That sundae looks amazing. Hnnngggggg. Love the trip report!

 

[fractal]

Basin - Bison; that's pretty funny! I love remembering goofy things we did or said on trip. The really do get a life of their own!

Sorry to hear you didn't like my favorite resort, but glad to see you enjoyed Beaches and Cream. Quick tip - you can use a snack credit to get an ice-cream cone there.

Your Mom's pics are coming out pretty good!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

That sundae looks amazing. Hnnngggggg. Love the trip report!

The sundae was so yummy. All day yesterday after posting this I was craving one and my sister and I were going to go get the similar Peanut Butter Cup one at Friendly's last night but it got too late. Maybe tonight!!

Basin - Bison; that's pretty funny! I love remembering goofy things we did or said on trip. The really do get a life of their own!

Sorry to hear you didn't like my favorite resort, but glad to see you enjoyed Beaches and Cream. Quick tip - you can use a snack credit to get an ice-cream cone there.

Your Mom's pics are coming out pretty good!

I know how much you love the BC and it was very pretty. We have quite a few coastal resorts up here that remind me of it. Both the pool and slide look awesome at BC. I just think if I was going to stay at any of the Epcot resorts it would be Boardwalk. BC is a close second though!! Though I don't think you'd be able to get me away from Beaches long enough to go to any of the parks.... lol

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

We headed back to the resort to change and head over to Ft Wilderness. Now, we debated how we should actually get to Fort Wilderness. When we went to the HDDR back in 2010, we drove to Ft Wilderness and took the bus to the Settlement. Since we were doing the 5pm, we decided that afterwards we wanted to go to MK and watch Wishes. So we had to decide…
1.Park at MK, ferry/monorail then boat to Ft Wilderness then boat back to MK after
2.Park at Ft Wilderness, bus to Settlement, bus back to car, park at MK
3.Park at FW, bus to Settlement, boat to MK then boat back to FW then bus back to car

Decisions decisions… We eventually decided to go with option 1 so we headed off to MK. We left around 3:45 so we had an hour and 15 to get to the show. We arrived at MK, parked waaaaay at the end of the row in the back corner of the parking lot, got on the tram and then hopped on the monorail. The doors closed and we were off…. Or so we thought…. Instead we sat there and waited… And waited some more. We prolly waited like 20 minutes!! Ok, just kidding it was more like 5 but when you have somewhere to be at 5pm and it’s already 4:30, it seemed like 20 mins!

Finally we took off and made it to the boat to FW. The boat showed up and we were able to get on. One stop at WL and we were on our way to FW. It was about 4:50 when we left WL so we were cutting it close. One thing I will say I enjoyed about the ride from WL to FW was you could see the ol’ swimming hole River Country, or should I say what’s left of it. It looked kinda creepy all overgrown and deserted.

We docked at 4:56 and I made a beeline off the boat to go get our tickets straightened out. The woman on the phone had told me to go to the ticket window to the left of Pioneer Hall. When I got there, they told me to just go to the door. Well, geez, I wish someone knew what was going on. We got our picture taken as a family in front of the hall and proceeded inside where we got a great table in the middle of the floor. It was 5:03 at that point and we were relieved to finally be there.

We had Nancy as our server which is the same server we had last time. She’s a hoot! I think she has been there forever. This was Ashley’s first time at HDDR and we had talked it up quite a bit so we hoped she liked it. She has the same sense of humor as I do so I knew she would love it.

Before the show starts, they bring out the food… and lots of it!! Ashley ordered a beer so they brought her out a pitcher of it. Lol. I got a Sangria. No picture of it though.

They bring out salad and cornbread but I apparently forgot to take pics of thsoe two things. Bummer cause they are both REALLY good!!

Ready to eat!! We even put our bibs on!! Haha

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I loaded my plate up with everything!!

Soon the Pioneer Players came storming into the hall and the show began. Three of the actors in the pic below (Six Bits, Johnny Ringo and Clair De Lune) were the same CM’s from the last time we came.

Six Bits is hysterical!! Definitely the one who got the most laughs (after all he is the “comic relief” of the show) Clair De Lune is my favorite girl.

At the end they pick some audience members to come up on stage. The show is very interactive as they come down into the crowd and talk to the audience. After dessert (which is served in a big production style musical number) they give you washboards to play with spoons. We couldn’t resist playing a little. (And see that pitcher of beer in front of Ashley? Yeah… she drank all of it. What a lush!!!!)

The dessert was strawberry shortcake which was awesome and I know John would LOVE!!! The show was awesome and Ashley really loved it. Something we will definitely try and do at least every couple trips but we will make sure it’s on a day we’re already at MK so we don’t have to work so hard to get there!!

We made our way back down and caught the boat and headed back to MK for some evening fun.

 

[wiigirl]

Love those pics!!!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Love those pics!!!

Thank you!!

 

[Joshua&CalebDad]

The dessert was strawberry shortcake which was awesome and I know John would LOVE!!! The show was awesome and Ashley really loved it. Something we will definitely try and do at least every couple trips but we will make sure it’s on a day we’re already at MK so we don’t have to work so hard to get there!!

We made our way back down and caught the boat and headed back to MK for some evening fun.

Great TR.

FYI for anyone that is interested...the HDDR kitchen is shared with the Trail's End Restaurant (told to me by a CM at the restaurant), which is right next door. If you love the food at HDDR, then you'll love the food at Trail's End. We ate there on our last trip and have reservations for our next trip. If you need some good home cooking after a week's worth of eating out at WDW, then this is the spot.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Great TR.

FYI for anyone that is interested...the HDDR kitchen is shared with the Trail's End Restaurant (told to me by a CM at the restaurant), which is right next door. If you love the food at HDDR, then you'll love the food at Trail's End. We ate there on our last trip and have reservations for our next trip. If you need some good home cooking after a week's worth of eating out at WDW, then this is the spot.

I love the chicken there!!! Think we will have to make a stop there in May!!! Thanks for the info!1 and thanks for reading!!

 

[fractal]

Oh man! I love me some HoopDeDoo Review! Simple entertainment, simple food, lots of beer and playing a washboard with a spoon; that's all you need for a great time! Love the comments and the pics.

 

[DawnBerg]

Great TR!!! Sry to hear about the loss of your friend. Your pics a great! I had a similar issue once with a memory card full of Disney pics...only I didn't lose it I erased it trying to download the pics and lost all of them. An dof course that trip we spent getting pics of the kids with every character we saw AGH!! lol. The cake for your mom's bday was AMAZING!!!!

 

[ILDisneyFan]

Very AWESOME trip report! It gets me all excited for our trip in November!

I just made an ADR today at The Crystal Palace for lunch and this will be our first time there! Hopefully, it's good! I noticed you went there for breakfast but I'm not much of a breakfast lover and I don't like to get up early! So, that probably wouldn't work well for us! LOL!

I'm so sorry about the loss of your friend. It's super hard losing someone you're close to.

It sucks that you lost your memory card. I've had something similar happen to me only I accidentally deleted all of the pictures on my memory card before I had put them on the computer. Yeah, I cried about it for a couple days. LOL!

I haven't been to Busch Gardens since I was a little kid, I would love to go back there one of these days. It looks awesome! I've seen that Cheetah ride on YouTube and it looks like a lot of fun! I love all the pictures of the tigers and cheetahs! I'm a HUGE cat fan! Big or small, I love them all! LOL! That rhymes!

Looks like you went to a lot of places with some YUMMY food! We've never been to Beaches and Cream either so we're trying it as well when we go in November! Looks like they have some really good food there!

I've been going to WDW every year since I was like 5 or 6 and I'm 32 now and this trip will have several firsts for my family and I! It will be exciting and you never know I may work up enough courage to write my very first trip report!

Again, your trip report was AWESOME! Thanks for sharing!

 

[MagicMegan]

My mom just came in my room to tell me to read the last page of this... lol... because I worked at Friendlys for 7 years. (I quit a month and a half ago.) Made me laugh, but I don't like peanut butter, so that was not my favorite sundae.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

I feel the same way about the Beach and the Yacht club. It reminds me way to much of Cape Cod, which I can get anytime right here. The two resorts are beautiful don't get me wrong. Just doesn't give me that Disney feeling I always love. And I haven't done HDDR in such a long time!

And you definitely have to go back to Beaches n Cream to have a burger! Those are the best! I love the atmosphere there too!